Need advice on character creation

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Well heres my basic plan:

Go through iwd2 with a four person party, starting with 1 guy and adding another character when xp starts becoming non existant and to spice things up a bit. For my main character I was thinking either:

Human

cleric(x)/monk1/ranger1/pal1(the idea being to dual wield the holy avenger + whatever other really good weapon strikes my fancy. I don't recall what weapons there are as I haven't played iwd2 in a while.

or

monk1/ranger1/pal1/fighter(x)

The idea behind this one being as above, but it would obviously have most likely a much higher ab as well as being able to use 2handed weapons if the creature i was fighting had a particular nasty damage resistance.


Are these choices viable? Would human be the best race for them? Basically I was looking for the following in my main character whom will end up with the most levels:

Tanking ability
Mangeably high armor class. Not sure whether I will do hof yet but having a nice armor class would be well..nice
Solid attack/damage output. Enough to get by on normal, at the least. So I guess a high str is nessecity


I'd also like to know what the other three chars should be. I was thinking:

A cleric of lathander for nukes/healing/melee capability.
A sorcerer for nukes/buffs
Perhaps another tank if needed. Barring that another caster


Well recommendations would be most appreciated =). I'm quite familiar for the most part with 3e rules and what should work in general, but I'm not an expert and I'm rather new to heavy multiclassing so I'm not positive what will work well and what won't.

 

Take Lathander for artillery. Don't bother taking martial feats, spells will do. Not even Weapon Focus. Spirit of Flame, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus - this is what counts.

Same for your sorcerer build. Get one level of paladin for skyhigh saves if you feel like it.

For the fourth character, you could take a rogue(2)/wizard(x) kind of build. Hone rogue skills, but don't bother taking non-casting feats.

As for your main fighter, dual-wielding is not really a good idea. Light armour on a main tank? Damn not. You need someone to do hefty damage, not a fancy dexterity-based rapier-wielding beer gut perforator.

 

Well the idea on the main tank was actually to wear no armor whatsoever and rely on the various wis/dex etc boosts plus armor buffs from the other chars to boost his ac to what I hope would be higher than what he would recieve with the mithril plate + a shield. Thats the idea, in principle anyways. I could forgo on the pally levels and not dual wield opting instead for a 2handed weapon to do a lot of damage, but a shield wouldn't be an option with the monk level.


I'm sort of trying to draw on jukkas ideal that a character with monk levels can achieve substantially higher ac than any other class provided I utilize the games various buffs and wisdom boosts throughout the game. I'm just not sure that I am actually in fact going about it the right way. But that was the idea, in principle anyways.


Now since this party would be just for normal unless I decide to do hof, maybe using plate + a shield would be better as I don't really need ridiculous ac to survive and since I would be leveling rather fast anyways maybe doing the character above wouldn't be as worthwhile..

 

Sometimes it is better to ditch the Ranger level and just choose Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting as Fighter feats (if you have enough DEX). If you are taking lots of Fighter levels you get so many Feats that this is not a problem.

Your general policy of adding PCs gradually is a sound one that I usually follow.

 

It's my first time trying it, but I wager I'll do just fine. Big problem wasn't even for me the secondary chars, it was just how to get a primary character who will have enough killing power and survivability to be the "core" of my group. You're right I could drop the ranger level, perhaps it would be worthwhile to do so in fact. Perhaps a party like this:

Human

Fighter(x)/pal2/monk1. Dual wielding holy avenger/other longblade or perhaps even a mace for some bludg damage

The only problem with that ^ is I sort of feel like wisdom is just there for saves and ac. And also that I wouldn't be increasing my wisdom this way since I'd be focusing on strength. Perhaps a..


Cleric lathander(x)/pal2/monk1

^ problem with that is dual wielding would probably be counter productive since my bab won't be as high as the fighters, but perhaps heavy buffing(I will have quick access to spells after all even with those 3 levels since my party should level really quickly) will solve that problem. I could also just use one weapon, but that sort of seems a waste since it's not a 2hander so damage will be rather low.

So maybe..

Human cleric of lathander(x)/monk1/fighter1 using two handed weapons. Probably greatsword polearm or axes. Actually, strangely enough I was testing in game and I found monks get axe as a feat, so maybe I could even forgo the fighter level and just do a monk1/cleric of lathander(x). The question is can that character survive with his nukes and melee..basically can he server as the cornerstone of my group. Or perhaps add four fighter levels to make it cleric(x)/fighter4/monk1 to give him some more bab, feats and weapon spec.

Sigh so many choices I just can't decide .

 

Ah, the fun of character generation in IWD2. I think it mostly depends on your playing style. I hate continuous buffing so I usually make my main tank one who can do the job without having to put his make-up on first. That usually just means Fighter / Barbarian, heavily armoured, and carrying a big two handed weapon. Whack! Tiny pieces of Orc flying everywhere!

 

True. I could probably just as easily do that, I'm generally too lazy to do heavy buffing as well . One thing I wonder though, will it hurt me to have no convo skills for a while? Depending on when I add the sorc, I may not have someone who can do more than grunt and smells better than refuse for a while . Also, if I start off with something like a fighter/barb, won't it not be able to rest until healed? Or it will take obscene amounts of time to do so? Perhaps I should do the lathander cleric first and then add the tank and then the sorc and finally something else.


Ah sooo many choices that I'm just so unsure of what it is I want .

 

There are no show-stopping conversations in the Prelude (or actually in the whole game) to worry about. Also, in IWD2, resting for 10 days has no impact on the game (that I have noticed).

Whatever you go for as your starting character, it is easier if they have melee capability because that is the majority of the start of the game.

 

The start is easy with high DEX, a bow and Finesse, too.

 

So my party is looking like this so far:


Main tank- sadly still undecided


Aasimar priest of lathander

Str:18
Dex:16
Con:18
Int:3
Wis:20
Cha:5

Taking spell pen/spirt of flame/spellfocuses to make his damaging spells more potent. With his high melee stats he should be perfectly fine as a tank as well.


Human Sorcerer
Str:8
Dex:10
Con:12
Int:18
Wis:10
Cha:18

^ This guy will focus on nukes/buffs basically the typical party sorc.


Fourth- Undecided. Another tank? Or a spellcaster? If a spellcaster I'm leaning towards cleric or sorc for obvious reasons, but a druid might be nice for variety.


The problem with my main char is I don't much want him to be a dwarf or a half-orc as I'm rather tired of both races.


I'm not an indecisive person but when it comes to parties I get so many ideas in my head that I feel like I'm going in circles, heh.

 

If you get a rogue/wizard, you won't have to have your sorcerer have so much of INT. Instead, you'll be able to give him more AC through DEX or HP through CON.

 

Hmm true. So something like..

rogue1/diviner(x)..elf as a race for the bow prof or human for the feat and skill points. This guy would handle locks/traps/alchemy which should ensure that I have all dialogue options and character options in the game mostly covered. Would have to get him scrolls though which I hear is a pain in the butt. I could just buy all the scrolls I feel like having him use and just save them up until I incorporate him though.


So the only other thing to figure is out what to make my main character. I'm torn between...

A paladin so my main char can also do dialogue options as needed or..

A fighter/barb or just pure(or mostly pure) fighter as I'm rather opposed to the idea of a dwarf or half-orc so the only option if I wanted a fighter/barb would be a human..

I could do a pure fighter with a tiefling, or a fighter with say two rogue levels for some skill points. But then I'd have to have his int at least as 12 to make that worthwhile..

Hmmm

 

The Rogue level will get you proficiency in bows. I have a Drow Rogue 1/Ranger 1/ Wizard 3 in my party of three now and I love him. After 3 more levels of Wizard, I'm going to up his Rogue to 2 to get Evasion. I maxed his INT & DEX gave him Weapon Finesse and he's a terror at melee while dual-weilding short swords. His CHA is only 10, but with the skill points I'm getting for his maxed INT more than makes up for it.

Suggestion for your main tank:
Half-Orc Rogue 3/Fighter 4/Barbarian X
STR 20 DEX 18 CON 18 INT 4 WIS 10 CHA 4

*Rogue 3 for Evasion and 1D6 Sneak Attack, put skill points in Hide and Move Silently, so he'll be more like an assassian.
*Fighter 4 for Extra feats & Weapon Specialization

 

Well you could always take an Aasimar Fighter[4]/Paladin of Helm[x]. Use Cera Sumat. Talk to shopkeepers. You could make him Drow if you dont take Fighter levels. Just remember not to give him Bluff skills.
If you want to stick with single classes then take Monk. That is the only melee class which is actually hurt by taking Fighter levels.
I guess you already used the Barbarian.
A Ranger is not a bad idea. Its just that when compared with the other frontline classes, he comes in last at plain killing. Or in being interesting.
Kensai/Thief used to be a very good class in BG II but Rouges are not really considered for the frontline in this game. Might be interesting.

Since you are thinking of soloing your frontliner for a while before adding other members along the way, you could take a multi-classed charecter.

Fighter[4]/ Paladin[3]/ Rouge[x] can be interesting. Teifling maybe.

 

Hmm well I was thinking of using a paladin to hit off the prologue etc until I get to the horde fortress, but I decided that would be rather boring. I was thinking a cleric of some sort as my main tank would be more fun as i'd have some spells to toss around too until I add the second character(whom would most likely be another cleric, or the sorc), but the trouble is I also sort of want to have dialogue options. I suppose I could do without, but I wonder how much that might hurt my advancement until I add the sorc(who may just have to be my main talker)


So then a battleguard would seem an obvious choice as my "main" tank, using axe/shield or else two handed axes. Alternatively I could use a cleric of lathander and use highly damageing spells and meleeing when I've exaushted those, or against weaker opponents. I figure I don't really *need* a character with super high ac since I plan to just do normal mode for now, but my main tank should still probably have at least a decent armor class. So plate + shield is likely, I suppose.

So something like:

Aasimar cleric of lathander
Str:18
Dex:16
Con:18
Int:3
Wis:20
Cha:5

would make a nice main tank. A battleguard if that would be more suitable. However- that does have the problem of having no dialogue skills, but maybe that won't turn out to be such a bad thing anyways as I will have the sorc soon enough anyways.


If I did this I would add characters like so:

1st guy plays until the start of the horde fort. The sorc is then added
Those two play until I get to the ice temple. Then a 2nd cleric, or perhaps a druid/x/x of some sort(for variety) is added.
Finally once I get to the underdark I can add a fourth and final char, likely another arcane spellcaster..


Is that ^ a good way of adding characters to maximize effectiveness? I don't much care for squatting so I'd like to know if anyones done things in this fashion before how that would end up leveling?

 

You may miss out on some sub-quests and dialogue options, but having one character will level up quickly. I suspect your Aasimar to be level 7 or 8 by the time you head out to the bridge.

This would keep your party's total level (total class levels of all characters/number of characters in party) low enough to continue recieving xp for kills. It would also allow your new characters to level up quickly as they will be coming in as the monsters are getting more powerful and thus have more xp to gain.

 

I changed things around slightly, but heres my party as it stands. I just got to chapter 2:


Human Priest of Lathander(13)
Str:18
Dex:16
Con:18
Int:3
Wis:21
Cha:3

He pretty much clears things out by himself, with the aid of summons if things get a little sticky. I never knew firestorm was so good..a shame I only have one casting a day of it. I was lucky enough to find a mace early which was 1d8 +50% chance for 1d6 lightning damage so his melee isn't all that bad either.


Human Sorc(8) I squatted this guy throughout the whole horde fortress and when I was done he shot up to level 8. His spells should prove a welcome "quickener" of some of the more drawn out melee fights.

Str:10
Dex:10
Con:10
Int:18
Wis:10
Cha:20

Half-Orc fighter/barb. This guys only a level 1 fighter since I just created him. I plan to squat all the way until I'm done with the ice fort with him. Not sure how high level he will be by then but he should end up powerful enough.
Str:20
Dex:16
Con:18
Int:1
Wis:18
Cha:1

Fourth char(to be added most likely by the underdark, perhaps earlier if xp really dries up..

Was thinking of adding a druid or maybe even a rogue. I don't particularly need another tank, my cleric + fighter +summons if needed will be more than enough to trounce most foes. A sorc or a wiz/rogue could make things go faster but I don't know that I want another mage type either. I know pure rogues aren't all that great and for that matter neither are druids but I figure what the hell..I'll add whichever I feel like I guess when I get there

 

D'oh, there was already a thread on this subject..

It seems like you're squatting, even if you said you wouldn't do it. What gives?

Besides, to reach levels in the low 20's for one character doesn't require squatting of any kind if you add characters along the way. (My Deep Gnome just leveled to 21 total after recovering the Holy Avenger.)

 

Fourth character suggestions:
Drow Rogue 1/Ranger 1/Wizard X
or
Tiefling or Lightfoot Halfling Rogue 3/Druid X

The problem w/ the druid mix is that WIS is the Druid's prime casting. However you could take him and not worry about spells and just focus on shape changing.

 

Well I just..decided to try it I suppose. I found that in the ice temple even with my squatted 3rd character there were times where the exp gained would be substantially less if I leveled up the newly added characters. The same was true for the horde fort. I figured my sorc would become useful much more quickly if I squatted him and I really didn't need his help all that much yet anyways so I figured, what the hey. I wanted to see how it would go if I squatted them for a chapter each and it seemed to work out fine. Actually, it almost worked too well as my cleric of lathander just about doesn't need any help to win fights. I'm sure I could easily solo with him.

One thing I don't understand is how when I was squatting my level one characters shot up so high after a chapter. For instance, my half-orc fighter/barb ended up at level 10 after squatting through the ice temple. Should he really have gained that many levels? I recall that my sorcerer was only 13th level after the ice temple, yet my half-orc went from 1 to 10. Are the gains diminishing that much for my main characters since they need so much xp to level up? At any rate I jacked the difficulty up to insane to try and give myself more of a challenge since theres really not been much yet :/. Sherincal and co was torn to pieces by my priest with little help from my sorc(I didn't really need to do anything with him )


Eh I suppose I'm rambling now. Thanks for the suggestions everyone. My party(now done with ice temple) is:


Human priest of lathander(16)
Human Sorc(13)
Half-orc fighter(10)- this seemed a bit of a mistake. I didn't know that you *had* to add all the levels at once upon level up, or I would have leveled him four in fighter and then squatted. I guess now he will stay a mostly pure fighter unless I decided to simply start adding barb, which I suppose I could still get tireless rage if I leveled up all barb from here until hof(if indeed I play hof).